Quickie Review

What made me like this so much was the really charming cast of characters, the humor and banter.

It was a nice and good read.

The ghost plot was good, partially creepy and interesting enough, even if it wasn't very original.

The romance part was sweet.

I loved the geek references.

Nina Linden is hired to landscape a private island and she thinks this will be the chance for her to rebuild her failing business. Rick, her partner and ex-boyfriend have tried to destroy her career after she left him when she realised he had been swindling money from their company. Deacon Whitney, the man she is working for is planning on renovating the derelict Whitney estate on the island. The problem is that the place is said to be haunted since the lady of the manor was killed a century before...

The thing I really enjoyed with this book was the nerdiness and the banter. Deacon Whitney may be a billionaire, but he is also a computer geek with who loves old cult fantasy movies like Flash and Kull. He is a rich guy who dresses in superman t-shirt. I thought I was over that whole rich guy, poor girl thing, but that was before I finally found myself reading a book about a nerdy billionaire. There is a lot of flirting between Nina and Deacon in this book and really funny nerdy banter between them.

We also have Jack and Cindy, Cindy is cleaning up the place and Jack is the architect and they have a past history, well Jack asked Cindy out on a couple of days and then she never heard from him again, and she is still pissed of despite the fact that it was years ago. And Jack just doesn't understand why because he doesn't remember that. So Cindy is making him really miserable and he can't understand why because people usually like him.

Then there is Dotty, Deacon's fun loving and impulsive cousin that arrives at the island to write a book about Catherine and Gerald, the women killed and her husband, the suspected killer. She instantly befriends Nina and Cindy and the three of them are having a blast, well when they are not being spooked. 

The story in itself wasn't that surprising. I mean it was easy to see the how it all would turn out for both Nina and Deacon and Jack and Cindy. I mean I like them, but the book is very much a paranormal romance, with a big emphasis on romance. The paranormal part was just not the books strongest part, for instance, I suspected the ending quite soon, there was in my opinion just two ways it all could end and my suspicion turn out to be the right one since. And all the parts when there are spooky things happening, well it was was never in any way terrifying. I think humor just got in the way to really make it a good haunted house story. But if a less terrifying paranormal book about a haunted house you are after then this is a very good choice. 

I was quite pleased when all the women Nina, Cindy and Dotty instantly like each other and there were no women that were a jealous bitch, then Regina turned up. So typical. Also, it was hardly surprising that Rick, Ninas ex would have a role to play in this book.

So all and all, the humor was great, the character likeable, the romance kind of OK despites its obvious pairing, but the story a bit weak. I was just never worried that something would happen to the main characters and the ending was just not that thrilling. One thing I liked was that is a stand alone paranormal book and not part of a series. There are so many series out there that it's nice with a book that isn't planned to be part of a series. As far as I know at least...

Thanks to Gallery, Threshold, Pocket Books and NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Wincing, he stood and revealed a mangled brown bunch of dead plant bits hanging limp from a little plastic pot on his desk.

Her jaw dropped. “How do you kill a ficus? It’s like the cockroach of the plant world. They’re impossible to kill.”

“I don’t know!” he cried. “I watered it every day. I gave it plant food. I even talked to the damn thing. Clearly, it was suicidal. It wanted to die. This was a mercy killing."

I've been strong and not posted a lot of one liners and funny dialogue from the book, but this one I just had to share...

I decided late last night to go through my NG books to see what to read and to get rid of books that put me to sleep after just a couple of pages. I mean I have books that I have started and though "Nah I will read something else instead", plus books that for some reason I have requested like a romance novel that now I wonder what I was thinking when I said yes to that. Historical romance with a rich man finding love with a poor spinster, that's new! 

This book worked for me, the nerdy billionaire and the haunted house and all the snarky comments just suited me perfect!

I recommend going through your NG books and just DNF anyone that feels like a waste of time for you.